


A Rune on the Hand, A Rune on the Heart

by tomfoolery14



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Declarations Of Love, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a tangible promise to be true, post-wedding sappiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 07:50:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19146676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomfoolery14/pseuds/tomfoolery14
Summary: another commitment is made between the wedding ceremony and the reception





	A Rune on the Hand, A Rune on the Heart

The walk down the aisle is a blur of color and a cacophony of sound, bright but muddled. All Magnus can sense with total clarity to the press of Alec’s fingers against his own—specifically the cold metal of his wedding band.

Walking hand in hand along the path laid out with gold flower petals, Mr. and Mr. Lightwood-Bane disappear through the chapel doors and into the antechamber Magnus had set into the existing structure for them to retire to between the ceremony and the reception.

The room was decorated in the same colors and decorations as the chapel during the ceremony, copious amounts of blue and gold working in harmony, lightly furnished with a generously sized loveseat and a corresponding table set in front of a blazing fireplace. There’s a drinks cart in the corner and a box of chocolate covered strawberries, and a mounted stereo playing an inviting ballad.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Alec made a sound of relief, his shoulders dropping back when he leaned in for a kiss. “That was kind of intense.”

“Well, you’ve only done it twice,” Magnus teased, bringing his hand up to stroke Alec’s cheek tenderly only to be intercepted by Alec, pressing a kiss to his open palm. The touch was grounding with the gravity of its meaningfulness, and he grew more serious as he continued. “I felt it too, Alexander. This little reprieve is perfectly timed.”

It was a well-known fact that Magnus was very well suited for celebrations and revelry, but this moment was more intimate than most. A wedding was for the friends and family, but the marriage…that was for them to share. It would take some time to transform the hall for the reception, and Magnus would be damned if he didn’t take advantage of that time to be with his husband.

_Husband._ A word that still sent electricity down Magnus’ spine in the best way.

With a flick of his wrist, a two flutes of perfectly chilled champagne garnished with raspberries appeared on the table alongside the strawberries. “A toast seems apropos, yes?”

They settled comfortably into the loveseat, pressed close to one another as if they couldn’t bear to be separated. And were that the truth, who could blame them? They were only just newlyweds.

“To us, Mr. Lightwood-Bane,” Alec offered, holding his glass up to Magnus.

The delicate _clink_ seemed loud in their precious silence as Magnus touched his own to the rim. “I’ll drink to that.”

After a moment, Alec set his glass back down with an unexpected kind of determination—a noticeable sobering from his previously lighthearted demeanor. “There’s something I’d like to ask you for; something I’d like to do together.”

With his interest piqued, Magnus leaned in towards him. “You know that you are welcome to anything it is within my power to give you, Alexander.”

“Well, it’s not exactly that kind of request.” He paused for a moment, his resolve appearing to develop a crack in its armor. “It’s a shadowhunter tradition that following the wedding ceremony, the love rune is drawn by the betrothed. I wanted to ask if you would draw mine for me.” Alec reached inside his jacket to retrieve his stele, rolling it between his fingers thoughtfully.

For a moment, Magnus felt as though his heart couldn’t be contained within his body with the way it swelled at Alec’s words. He wanted to reach inside his chest and give his love tangibly, to offer the most valuable thing he had as easily as if it were a stick of gum. “I want to share that with you.”

Alec smiled shyly and handed his stele over. With fingers trembling with excitement, he carefully unbuttoned his shirt to expose the plane of his chest above his heart. Slowly, alabaster skin blooming with a rose colored flush was revealed, more endearing than it had any right to be.

The smooth adamas was cold in Magnus’ palm even as it began to warm to his body heat, and it felt weighty with purpose. There was a first for everything, and Magnus wasn’t consumed enough by vanity to think he was the first downworlder to draw a love rune on a shadowhunter, but it felt like the dawn of a new era. They weren’t just a downworlder and a shadowhunter; they were the Head of the New York Institute, a Lightwood, and the former High Warlock of Brooklyn, Edom’s prince. This love they shared was something so much more than just their hearts.

But at the end of the day, it was just a simple incontrovertible truth Magnus knew all the way down to his bones: he was irrevocably in love with Alec Lightwood, and Alec loved him just the same.

“Do you need me to show the rune to you first?”

Magnus chuckled, raising the stele point just above Alec’s heart. “I’m intimately familiar with it, Alexander. I’ve felt you tracing it on my skin when you think I’m asleep, and I’m a curious man by nature.” Alec ducked his head to hide his embarrassed smile, and that just wouldn’t do. Magnus coaxed his chin up with gentle fingers, holding his gaze for a beat before beginning. The point glowed deep red as he gripped it tight, leaving behind what looked like a million gold scales embedded in Alec’s skin coalescing into loops and curves.

The initial sting made Alec wince slightly, but just as quickly as he rejected the feeling, he relaxed into Magnus’ anchoring touch on his thigh. It was a small gesture of comfort, but it seemed to mean something.

Upon the rune’s completion, it appeared to seep deeper into Alec’s skin, growing darker and darker until it was a defined, inky black rendering, proudly displayed.  He looked down at it, pressed his finger against it to feel for himself. “Wow,” he said, simple but utterly sincere. “I wish you could wear it too.”

“Well,” Magnus hedged coyly, “I think a compromise of sorts can be struck. May I have your hand?”

Alec complied immediately and allowed Magnus to guide his palm beneath the lapel of his shirt to press against his heart. He was certain Alec could feel each beat with perfect clarity. “What now?”

In lieu of an answer, Magnus let his magic course through him and into Alec until it pooled in his hand. The unmistakable blue glow that encased his hand was warm like a lover’s kiss. “This is a warlock tattoo, for all intents and purposes. Picture the rune in your mind and then let it come to me. Right here.”

The magic grew hotter and darker as Alec pressed more insistently until it dissipated sharply like elastic that snapped. He moved his hand away after a moment to reveal the stark black impression of the love rune appeared clearly emblazoned.

“‘A rune on the hand, a rune on the heart’—I believe that’s how it goes.”

A joyous laugh bubbled up from Alec’s throat and then they were kissing—a kiss that tasted of champagne and strawberries and promises.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on [tumblr](http://royaltybane.tumblr.com)


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